About Dejan Kovacevic

/

Dejan Kovacevic, a lifelong Pittsburgher, is an award-winning sports columnist who has covered the Steelers, Penguins, Pirates, Pitt and, recently, his fourth Olympics in Sochi, Russia. For 2011, he was named one of the country's top four columnists by the AP Sports Editors. For 2012, he was named one of the country's top three columnists by the National Headliners. For 2013, he was named the state's top columnist by the Keystone Press Awards and top columnist in Western Pennsylvania by the Golden Quills.

Posts by Dejan Kovacevic:

Friday Insider: Bylsma had chance to change

by • Friday Insider • , , , ,

Dan-Bylsma-2

Dan Bylsma was fired by the Penguins after another playoff flop in 2013-14. — GETTY IMAGES

DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

A weekly feature rounding up a lot of randomness from a lot of time around our city’s teams …

fridayinsider• Had a fascinating conversation this week about Dan Bylsma’s final couple of years behind the Penguins’ bench, and it shed light on something I hadn’t previously understood: Why, if the people over his head were displeased with his system, did it never change?

The answer, according to one individual eminently in the know, was that Bylsma flat-out wouldn’t listen to anyone. No, not even to Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle.

The part that was most irksome to the owners was the same that seemed to irk most in the public, that being the spread-all-over-creation breakouts. Those above Bylsma recognized that the breakouts, one, stunted his own star players’ speed by having them catch passes at a standstill and, two, were laughably easy to defend when a team had time to practice it. Such as, you know, a best-of-seven playoff series.

Bylsma would occasionally be told of this dissatisfaction, and the system would be modified … but never for more than a game or two.

Some coaches really do forget that the objective is to win, not to win your way.

MORE

Speaking today at Point Park … and pumped

by • Site stuff

IMG_8226

An ominous sign of things to come today inside Lawrence Hall at Point Park University. — DEJAN KOVACEVIC

DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

I’ll speak to students at Point Park University today — 1 p.m., Lawrence Hall Ballroom — and I’m not going to lie: I’m really looking forward to it.

For one, when those involved are coming up with a full Facebook page dedicated to the event, an article in the university newspaper or excessively flattering signs like the one above, it’s easy to get pumped. I’ve heard first-hand from students — faculty, too — who, like me, are anticipating a fun conversation on what this site is all about and what, if anything, it might mean for the future of the business.

For another, given the solo nature of this venture, I don’t really discuss the thing much outside the house. That’s very different than when I was with a newspaper and everything was discussed. So trust me when I say I’m looking much more to hearing what you have to say than what I will.

Finally, I’ve got great respect for the university, for those I know there, for the ambitious and classy way it’s expanded and enhanced an entire edge of our Downtown, as well as the fact that the school still teaches real journalism. Something to be said for that. Truth be told, and I’ve never confessed this publicly, my preference when graduating Gateway was to go to Point Park. Parental influence steered me to Duquesne, and getting an actual job steered me off the Bluff in a hurry.

My sincere thanks to the Pittsburgh Center for Sports Media & Marketing for the invitation.

Hoge, Walker laud concussion advancements

by • News/views • , , ,

FullSizeRender

Merril Hoge, Pierre Larouche, Neil Walker and Jason Kutney at Carnegie Science Center. — DEJAN KOVACEVIC

DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

There’s a first for everything, and moderating an Allegheny Health Network symposium on concussions Wednesday at the Carnegie Science Center was a first for me. And I mean of any kind.

But it turned out really cool, and not just because of the wealth of knowledge directly from some of the nation’s foremost specialists in brain trauma but also because of the passionate words of the panelists I moderated in the final segment: Merril Hoge of the Steelers and ESPN, Neil Walker of the Pirates, Pierre Larouche of the Penguins and Jason Kutney of the Riverhounds.

Here’s one highlight from each of those four:

MORE

Exclusive: Orioles exec questions media on cap

by • News/views •

Orioles_Announce_Partnership_with_Baltimore_Schools

John Angelos has overseen the Orioles and their TV networks since 1999. — BALTIMORE ORIOLES

DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

John Angelos wears many caps with the Orioles in Baltimore, from executive VP to chief operating officer of the team’s network to the son of longtime owner Peter Angelos. He’s held these posts for more than a decade.

Upon reading today’s column about Russell Martin and Major League Baseball’s lack of a salary cap, Angelos reached out to me by email to call it “the best piece I’ve read on the topic in 20 years.” And remarkably, it’s entirely likely he didn’t mean it as a compliment.

“There’s just no one writing about this issue, no one talking about it,” Angelos said in a later phone conversation. “And I don’t understand it.”

MORE

Interview: Alejandro Villanueva, Steelers

by • Videos •

DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

Alejandro Villanueva’s tale has been told many times since his arrival to the Steelers, including yesterday in an NFL Network segment and back to last year in an impeccably detailed ESPN.com feature. Short version: He’s a U.S. Army Ranger who served three tours of combat duty in Afghanistan and is now pursuing his dream of playing pro football as a 6-9, 330-pound offensive lineman on the Steelers’ practice squad.

Ben Roethlisberger opened his weekly meeting with us reporters by acknowledging Veterans Day and divulging that the players approached Mike Tomlin to request that Villanueva accompany the team to Nashville, something a practice-squad player would never do.

And it’s funny, but as a side note, we always take every minute we can with Roethlisberger until the 1 p.m. closing of the locker room. Not this time. A big group of us peeled away to go talk to Villanueva once he showed up. Kid looked genuinely stunned.

Column: A tip of the (salary) cap to Martin

by • Columns •

Pittsburgh Pirates v Atlanta Braves

Russell Martin is doused by champagne in Atlanta for the Pirates clinching a playoff berth. — GETTY IMAGES

DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

Russell Martin will leave the Pirates someday soon, in all likelihood. My belief is that the Pirates will be true to their word and put forth their legitimately best effort, although, like everyone else, I’ll want solid proof. I’ll want the numbers. I’ll want them independently confirmed by Martin and/or his agent.

Still and all, he’ll be gone.

Bob Nutting will be blamed. Martin will be blamed. His agent will be blamed. Frank Coonelly and Neal Huntington will be blamed. Nutting will be blamed some more.

And barely a soul will dare discuss the real reason Martin is leaving.

MORE

Tuesday 12 Qs: Tomlin, Scuds, Russ, Pederson

by • Tuesday 10 Qs • , , ,

Rob Scuderi pokechecks the Jets' Blake Wheeler last Thursday in Winnipeg. -- GETTY IMAGES

Rob Scuderi pokechecks the Jets’ Blake Wheeler last Thursday in Winnipeg. — GETTY IMAGES

DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

Welcome to Tuesday 12 Qs, our chat that takes place each week at 1 p.m. — shortly after I cover Mike Tomlin’s press conference at Steelers headquarters on the South Side — and offers you a chance to dictate the discussion.

The format is simple: Use the comments section below to submit an entry. No more than one per person, please. Submit it early if you prefer, and I’ll pick from that batch to get rolling, then monitor new entries once we go live.

All topics welcome, as always.

UPDATE 1:05 p.m.: Here we go …

Randall Alessi: I’ve heard Ben Roethlisberger and other players mention when asked about continually having issues beating obviously lesser teams how they pay no attention to that team’s current record and such. Do you buy that? If they didn’t know how bad the Jets were, they were the only ones that didn’t!

DK: They know. I think you’re blurring the line between being aware and what an opponent says publicly in the weekly run-up. Those have little in common.

That said, after asking Tomlin just now — for a second time in three days, something I usually don’t like to do — whether or not his history in losing to bad teams on the road might change anything about the preparation this week for the 2-7 Titans, I got still more about the minus-4 turnover differential. Stan Savran immediately followed up by asking if lack of preparation could have led to turnovers, and that got dismissed, too. Because, in Tomlin’s words, the offending parties were Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown, who have no trouble getting ready for any game.

I get that turnovers were huge, but I also get that 53 players had a terrible game. As did the entire coaching staff. So laying it on Ben and A.B. is quite the straw man.

MORE

«< 64 65 66 67 68 >»